How To Study And Pass any Exam - 7 Tips That Will Drastically Improve Your Grades

Many students spend hours studying for their finals but no matter how much studying hours they put into it they never seem to get good grades. Others seem to procrastinate study at the last moment yet they succeed without a problem.

Is it the way they study? Or are they just smarter.. Here are some common tips to enhance your mental ability and get better grades with less effort

image credit: Scubasteveo-flickr (creative commons)

Credit: Scubasteveo-flickr (creative commons)

Tip 1: Get your good night sleep

Getting a good night sleep is crucial for performing well on any exam because your brain makes memory connections while asleep (during non-rapid eye movement) and improves our ability to concentrate. Losing one night’s sleep can impair reasoning and memory for up to 4 days!

A neuroscience study performed at the University of Pennsylvania demonstrated that sleep deprivation impairs cAMP signaling in the hippocampus and increases the activity of the enzyme PDE4 which inhibits memory consolidation. So get your sleep even if you did not get to revise your study material within time...

Tip 2: Consider using a psycho-stimulant such as Adderall or Ritalin if you have problem concentrating

If you have problem focusing on your course than it’s useless to waste your time just reading. There are good stimulants available but unfortunately they are in general bad for the nervous system. But on the plus side they improve memory and learning ability. Studies have shown for multiple times that Ritalin boosts cognitive ability in animals and enhanced brain plasticity, strengthening communication between neurons where they meet at the synapse. This basically means you are learning your material more efficiently! Always talk to your doctor before using these drugs .

Tip 3: Exercise

Physical exercise improves our learning ability by growing new neural connections in the brain and preventing cognitive decay. Rats that exercised daily on a running wheel performed better on cognitive tests than rats that were inactive. Exercise has many positive properties beyond memory improvement so there is no reason you should not exercise.

Tip 4: Eat a Balanced Diet

A study at the University of Oxford revealed that eating a high-fat, low-carb diet for five days was correlated with a decline in mental performance when compared to a balanced nutritious diet. Fish oil can improve working memory and cognitive function by up to 30 %. On the contrary, processed foods decline your ability to concentrate and will make you feel tired and lethargic. Avoid eating a high carb meal as well. Sweets are good, as they contain simple sugars that our brain uses as a primary source of fuel.

Tip 5: Maintain Your Social Network

Studies suggest that people with more friends tend to have more grey matter in the brain than people with fewer friends. People with a large supportive friend group also tend to live longer and be less vulnerable to mental decline due to aging.

Tip 6: Revise and Test Yourself

Not only does testing yourself improves your ability to retrieve information, it’s also proven to be the most efficient way to learn your course. A study showed that student significantly improved their grades by recalling what they have learned and retained this information longer than students who did not tested themselves after learning.

Tip 7: Consider Using DMAE H3 as a Supplement

DMAE is a short for dimethylaminoethanol, a naturally occurring substance that facilitates the synthesis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. DMAE is also known as a smart drug and many studies show significant benefits in memory and cognitive ability. In addition the drug increases life expectancy and protects neurons in the brain from free radical damage.

When DMAE H3 is used during learning, it significantly increases synapses connection forming and cognitive ability. The best form to take it is in a liquid and it’s recommended to take a few drops in hot green tea and citron juice. L-theanine found in green tea improves your ability to concentrate and the vitamin C found in citron juice enhances the drug effectiveness.

I hope these tips will help you improve your grades but remember, if you don’t study they can’t give you good grades. So in the end, it all depends on your studying.